The Betrayal
by beeble
Summary: The team investigates strange activity at an elementary school as Nick battles his own demons...


****

The Betrayal

by Carol Hansen

__

Thelead gray sky threatened rain and the grass bent in the stiff wind. Nick ran against the rain, calling out desperately. "Julia!"

Julia seemed not to hear him. Nick would not know this until some time later, but his lover was already dead. "Julia, no!" he cried again, but to no avail.

The sky opened up and a bolt of lightning shot through the sky, striking the cross with tremendous force. Still nothing from Julia, though her convulsing body made it all too clear to Nick what was happening to her. 

"Julia!" he shouted in horror.

Then without warning, she looked towards him. Nick stopped short, gaping with open shock and horror.

Julia was gone. In her place was a charred skeleton, tendrils of smoke rising from the ruined skull. The skeleton opened its mouth and spoke. "Nick."

"No," Nick whispered, unable to move.

"Oh, Nick, I love you, Nick. Nick, no Nick, I love you, don't leave me please, don't leave me. Nick-"

"Nooo!" Nick cried, bolting upright in his bed. He was trembling violently, his whole body racked with shudders. He buried his head in his hands.

"Nick!" Rachel rushed into his room, concern written all over her face. "Oh, Nick," she said comfortingly as she realized the reason for his outburst. "Oh, Nick," she repeated, running her hand over his damp head, which rested gently against her chest.

"Rachel, what is it?" Derek asked, stepping into the room.

"Nick's just had a nightmare," Rachel replied. "He'll be alright." Derek nodded, taking Rachel's reply as a dismissal, and closed the door behind him.

Nick's trembling had subsided and he now leaned against the headboard, his face pale and drawn from the horror of his dream. "Do you want to talk about it?" Rachel asked.

"Julia," he answered, closing his eyes. He opened them again quickly as he was hammered with visions from the dream.

Rachel nodded, looking on sadly as Nick fought the coming tears. "I miss her so much," was all he said, though, and he already seemed to be composing himself. 

"I know you do," Rachel said, and kissed Nick softly on the forehead before leaving his room. She found Derek still standing outside, leaning against the wall across the hall.

"How is he?" he inquired, obviously concerned. 

"Upset, but that's obvious. He had another dream about Julia."

Derek appeared startled. "He hasn't dreamt of her in months."

"Not to our knowledge he hasn't," Rachel remarked. "But that doesn't mean he hasn't. This is just the first time we caught him."

Derek felt a guilty pang as he realized how much they had neglected their colleague lately. "Well, it doesn't do much good to stand here worrying about it. We all need rest. We can continue this discussion in the morning."

Nobody did. Alex, complete oblivious of the previous night's incident, only sat in watchful silence as her friends stared into their cups and plates, avoiding eye contact with each other.

"So, anyone got plans for the day?" she inquired, sipping at her tea.

Derek and Rachel looked up at her, but Nick only continued to stare into his coffee cup. "I have to pick Kat up at ten," Rachel replied. "She'll probably want to come back here with me. She's been really homesick in Minnesota."

"I thought she liked Monika and Joe."

"Oh, she loves them. But they pale in comparison to Nick," she continued with a smile. There was still no response.

"We have work to do," Derek said shortly. "Kat's welcome to stay here, of course, but we've got an important case just in. It'll need our full attention." He got up from the table and walked briskly to the parlor, where he sank into a recliner beside the piano.

"What's with him?" Alex asked after he had left.

"He had a late night," Rachel answered, stealing a glance at Nick.

Nick finally lifted his eyes. "I should get going," he said, standing up.

"Where're you going?" Alex asked.

Nick rubbed at his eye. "I have to see a guy about that case Derek was talking about. There's been a series of disturbances at an elementary school in Santa Mira. Sloan thinks there might be a Legacy case hidden somewhere in there. Probably just some kid pulling another prank."

Alex's eyes widened. She had never heard Nick dismiss a case so quickly. "You never know Nick," she started.

"Exactly," he retorted. "Sounds like a hoax to me." He turned and left the room.

Alex looked over at Rachel. "_He's_ in a good mood," she remarked, then followed suit and left Rachel alone in the kitchen.

*

Nick slammed the door behind him as he left the house. He wasn't really upset with Rachel, Alex, or Derek, but he didn't know how else to vent his frustrations over losing Julia. He felt as if he was experiencing her death all over. He stopped in front of hisMustang and leaned against the top of the car. He shut his eyes and felt the world spin uncaringly around him.

__

I gotta get outta here, he thought, and jumped into the car. As soon as the engine roared into life, he backed out of the driveway and sped off, his tires squealing wildly.

The drive helped some in calming him, but not nearly enough. Even as he sat down to order at the small café he felt the anger rising inside of him. He imagined stares from everywhere in the room on his back. He turned around just in time to see a beautiful young woman enter, and rose to greet her.

"Hi," he said as she walked by.

"I'm sorry," the woman replied, and pushed down her glasses to observe Nick over the lenses. "Do I know you?"

"No," Nick replied, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "I just can't pass up a beautiful woman without at least saying hello."

The woman blushed. "Oh-" She laughed nervously. "I'm sorry," she said again, "I've never been very good at accepting compliments."

"Well, I don't see how." Nick's smile was much stronger this time. "I'm sure you must get a lot of practice."

"Only the occasional whistle and wave," she disagreed. "By the way, I'm Julia Reeves."

Nick jumped. He couldn't believe what he just heard. "Julia?" he whispered.

"Are you alright?" Julia asked, lightly touching his arm. "You're white as a sheet."

"Sorry," he apologized. "I just felt a goose walk over my grave." _Or Julia's grave._

"It's alright." She paused. "Looks like the tables have turned," she said.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, recovering from his initial shock. 

"At first _I _was the shy one."

Nick just stared, trying to guess at what she could mean. Then he realized he hadn't even told her his name. "Oh, I'm sorry. Really, I must be making a terrible impression. I'm Nick Boyle," he introduced himself, extending his hand.

"Well, Nick Boyle, it's a pleasure to meet you," Julia replied, smiling brightly.

Nick made a weak attempt at a smile. "You too. Look, I really should get going, but why don't we get together sometime?" What he really wanted was to never see her again. He stared at her, realizing for the first time how closely she resembled Julia. _But she is Julia, _he told himself.

Julia blinked. "Are you sure we haven't met?" she asked. "You seem so familiar."

"I'm sure," Nick replied.

"Oh," she fumbled. "Well, whatever. As for getting together sometime, I'd love to. How about I give you my number and you call me when you get a chance?"

"Sure," Nick agreed. "But I'm not sure how soon that'll be. I work with the Luna Foundation, and we tend to keep ourselves pretty busy."

"The Luna Foundation?" Julia's eyes widened. It'd been so long since she'd heard that name. "Never heard of it," she said carefully, trying to conceal her surprise.

"Well, we don't advertise too much. Here's my card. I think it might be better if you call me. I've been really swamped lately. Not too much time for dating," he admitted.

Julia took the card, and stared at in disbelief. _Not the Luna Foundation, _she corrected herself, _The Legacy._ She smiled. "You'll be hearing from me," she said, and turned to leave.

Nick stood at the counter for another minute, still shocked by his meeting with Julia. _She's so much like her, _he thought. "Who was that?" a woman asked him.

Nick whirled around to see a fat waitress staring at him. "What?"

"That woman. Who was she? She didn't even order anything."

Nick paused, realizing the waitress was correct. "I don't know," he responded, then nodded and walked toward the door. "See ya later," he called, and left.

"Wait!" the waitress yelled after him. "You didn't order either," she said to his receding back.

*

Derek began to worry when Nick had still not come home by afternoon. He was worried that Nick had gone and done something foolish, but he didn't know how to voice his unease to his associates.

"Derek, will you please tell me what's going on?"

"I wish I could Alex." He walked to the window. "Nick still hasn't dealt with the loss of Julia. Last night he dreamt of her again. Rachel's positive this is the worst it's been in months."

"So he had a bad dream. What does that have to do with you?"

Derek paused. "Nothing really. But we all feel partly responsible for her death. It's just so hard to look at him without thinking about her."

Alex put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "There's nothing we could do about it then, and there's nothing we can do about it now," she said gently.

"Yes, I know," Derek replied. "But I still wish he would come home."

*

Nick pulled to a stop in front of the castle. He dreaded going inside. He already knew Derek, Rachel, and Alex would be waiting for him, and he wasn't sure he could handle a confrontation with them now. Then he remembered something. "Kat!" he yelled, bursting through the front door. 

"Nick!" Rachel exclaimed as he entered the foyer, "keep your voice down. Kat's asleep."

Nick's face fell.

"Well, what did you expect, coming home at this hour?"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's ten after one," Rachel answered, and moved to take his coat. "You're soaked. Didn't you notice the rain?" she asked.

Nick stared at her with his mouth open, shocked. He hadn'tnoticed it was raining. He looked down at himself, wondering jut how drenched he was. "Well," he said, nearly shouting. "A little water won't hurt anyone."

Derek walked into the room, followed closely by Alex. "What's all the shouting about?" Derek asked, looking toward Rachel.

"Who's shouting!" Nick shouted.

"He's plastered," Alex muttered.

"Nick, are you insane?" Derek cried. "Driving at this time of night in this condition. You could've gotten yourself killed."

"Or somebody else," Rachel added.

"Well I didn't!" Nick yelled. "I don't know what you're all worried about. I can do whatever the hell I want!" With that, he ran up the stairs to his room, and slammed the door behind him.

The others stood in shock after he left, staring at each other in silence. 

"I should check on Kat," Rachel said.

*

Nick sat bent double on the edge of his bed, cradling his head in his hands. He really had had too much too drink, he realized. But it had seemed like a good idea at the time. He heard a quiet knock on the door, but did not move to answer it.

"Nick," he heard a familiar voice call. "Nick, let me in."

Nick looked up in surprise and shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. 

"Please Nick, let me in. I need to see you."

"Julia?" Nick, whispered, leaning his face against the door. "Julia, is that really you?" He could feel his heart soaring nearly out of his chest.

"Nick let me in." Suddenly the tone and the voice changed, and a man's voice shouted at him through the heavy wood door. "Nick, you let me in right this instant!"

Nick thought he was going to vomit. He pulled away from the door with lighting speed and looked at it as if it was the devil itself. "Go away," he tried to call out, but his voice betrayed him.

"Nicholas Boyle, you open this door this very second, or there'll be hell to pay!"

Where was Derek, he wondered. And Rachel and Alex. Surely they could hear all the shouting. The shouting and pounding on the door continued. Nick leaned against the opposite wall, trying to shut out the sound of his father's thundering shouts. He prayed somebody would come to aid him soon.

"Nick-open this door! At once! I don't know how many times I'll have to tell you! LET ME IN!"

Nick slid down the wall, watching the door across the room with tense apprehension. He knew it would not be long before his father burst through the door. Then he didn't know what he would do.

"Nick!" Nick responded to the shout by jumping to his feet, and pulled the chair out from under his desk. He started to prop the chair under the doorknob when he heard another familiar voice.

"Nick? Hey, Nick, what's going on? Open this door."

"Alex!" Nick shouted in relief. Then he paused. "Is he gone?" he asked in slightly tremulous voice.

"Is who gone?" Alex sounded confused. 

Nick flung the door open and stared in open horror at the figure facing him. His body swayed, and he collapsed in a heap at Alex's feet.

*

"I think he'll be just fine."

"Are you sure? We'll be needing him over the next few days."

"I'm sure, Derek," Rachel replied. "He just needs plenty of rest and in the morning-plenty of aspirin. He'll have a terrible hangover."

Alex stood apart from the other two, watching the slow rising and falling of Nick's chest. "Why will we need him?" she asked Derek.

"There's a case I've just started working on. There's a problem with the elementary school in Santa Mira. It's an especially small town, so the trouble at the school has got the entire town in upheaval. Sloan asked me to look into it."

"So you want to take Nick with you?" Alex inquired.

Derek nodded. "He's perfect for the job."

"And you're sure he's up to it?" Rachel asked, looking up from her sleeping patient.

"He'll have to be."

*

Nick awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. He sat up slowly, trying to fight the dizziness that threatened to overcome him. He threw one arm out toward the night table, and felt for the journal he knew he would find there. He wanted to see if he had made an entry the night before. He could hardly even remember his own name.

There was a quiet knock on his door. He got a sudden sick feeling in his stomach, but ignored it and called out, "Come in!"

Rachel pushed the door open and stuck her head in the door. "Good morning," she said carefully.

"Morning," Nick replied with a small grunt. "What time is it?"

"Eleven-thirty," Rachel responded, and waited for the response.

"Eleven-thirty? It isn't morning! Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes bitterly.

"I thought you might be tired."

"Thanks a lot Rachel. Now that you let me sleep half the day away."

Rachel just watched Nick in wonder. He didn't seem to remember any of the events of the previous day. "I guess I'llleave you alone then," she said. "Come downstairs after your shower. We all slept late."

Then Nick surprised her. "Is Kat still here?" he asked. 

"Her sitter picked her up for school earlier this morning. Apparently Kat _did _remember to set her alarm."

"Maybe she should give us pointers," Nick said with a small laugh.

Rachel smiled and left the room.

*

"Good morning, Rachel," Derek said, looking up from his paper.

"Good morning."

"So…"

"How's Nick?"

Derek nodded at the psychiatrist. "He's fine. He doesn't really act like he remembers much of yesterday, though. He asked about Kat, but other than that, he acted as if everything were just a normal day."

"Hm."

"My thoughts exactly. Where's Alex?"

"She went out to begin research on that school I was telling you about last night. We couldn't find much on our database, so she's seeing what she can find at the library."

"Are the computers down?" Rachel asked, frowning.

"No," Derek replied. "It's just that nothing of significance has ever happened at the school before. It's just a nice, normal school."

"No wonder Sloan wants you to look into it."

"Well, whatever reason Sloan has for us taking on this case, I think it's a good idea. Some of the incidents just don't go together right."

"Do you really think we're dealing with the supernatural?" Rachel asked, somewhat skeptical. "I mean, kids pull pranks all the time."

"Not in Santa Mira."

*

Nick pulled his shirt over his head and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Despite his long night of sleep, hiseyes looked bloodshot and tired, and there were small circles shadowing the bottom of his lids. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose, trying to erase the memories of the night before. He couldn't get his father's voice out of his mind.

He combed his hair quickly and got ready to leave the room. Then he noticed a small slip of paper beside his wallet on the dresser. 

He picked it up, and nearly dropped it just as quickly.

Julia 748-9329

His jaw dropped. Then his mind flashed back to the meeting in the café and he relaxed. She hadn't given him her number, though. He shook his head, perplexed. Maybe a she had slipped it in his pocket and he didn't notice. He doubted that. _Oh well, _he thought, _maybe I'll call her._

He walked downstairs and entered the kitchen. Derek and Rachel sat at the table, talking quietly. They stopped when they noticed him walk him. "Good morning, Nick" Derek called.

"Morning." He sounded much more cheerful than he felt. "Look, I'm sorry about last night," he said.

Rachel and Derek looked at each other. "Don't worry about it," Derek finally said. "It was just a bad night."

"No, it wasn't," Nick argued. "I should've had more control. I don't know what's gotten into me."

"He said to forget it, Nick," Rachel said. "We already have." He could see the lie in her eyes.

"No, you haven't," Nick disagreed. "I just—I can't stop thinking about her," he admitted.

"Julia." It was not a question.

"Yes." He kept his eyes downcast. "I'm sorry Derek, but every time I hear you say her name- It reminds me of that day."

"I know. And we both know how hard it is for you to think about her. But you have to heal Nick, and sometimes it isn't going to be easy."

Rachel watched as the two talked, glad to see some truth finally come out. She hated to see Nick try to hide his feelings, especially when it came to Julia.

"I really don't want to talk about this," Nick stated. He sat at the table. "Anything new on that school?" he asked, directing the question at the Precept.

"Alex is working on it right now." He stopped and looked appraisingly at Nick. "Do you think you're up for some field work?"

Nick nodded. "I always am," he said with a smile. He wasn't so sure, though. "I'll get packed right now," he said. "But first there's somebody I need to talk to." He turned and left the kitchen and walked to the phone in the parlor.

He took Julia's number out of his pocket and dialed. He waited for several rings and then hung up as he heard her answering machine pick up. He stared at the phone for a moment, then stuffed the phone number back in his pocket. He ran upstairs to pack.

*

Derek looked over at Nick. His face was pale, and dark circles ringed his eyes. "Rise and shine," Derek said, nudging him.

"Is it morning already?" Nick asked, rubbing his eyes. 

Derek nodded. "We're almost there."

"I don't see why we couldn't take a plane," Nick complained as he sat up straighter in his seat. 

"Why do you care?" Derek asked. "I've been doing all the driving."

"It's a matter of principle. No sane person should spend two days in a car."

"We haven't spent two days in a car."

Nick looked annoyed. "You know what I mean, Derek. Fifteen hour drive, plus rest and food stops. This hasn't exactly been my idea of a good time."

"You're too restless. You can't spend your whole life running around."

Nick sighed and closed his eyes. He was having a lot of trouble waking up lately. "How much further is it?"

"We're here," Derek replied, turning into a small parking lot. 

Nick read the sign in front of the motel. "Bates Motel? Man, this looks like something out of a Hitchcock film."

Derek looked at his partner and shook his head. "Bates isn't that uncommon of a name," he stated.

They stepped out of the car. The wind gusted a little around them, but other than that it was completely silent. "Doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo," Nick chimed, "You are now entering the Twilight Zone."

Derek laughed. "It is a little eerie, isn't it?" 

"You noticed." A broken doll lay discarded near the front door. One of the eyes was missing. "I wonder how often they clean this place," Nick said.

"About as often as they get customers."

"That's comforting."

They walked through the door into the motel office, and looked around for a manager. "Hello?" Derek called. "Hello!" He hit the call button several times.

There was no answer. "Great service," Nick muttered.

Then a man walked in from a back room. He was about sixty years old, with wispy white hair and dark, beady eyes. "What do you want?" he asked.

"We need a room," Derek replied. "Or two, if you have them."

"I got nineteen empty rooms," the old man said, then leaned over, hacked, and spit onto the dirty floor.

"Hey," Nick started, but was cut off by the old man.

"You can have two rooms, but I'll have to charge you extra, on account of you're not from around here."

Nick sighed in exasperation. He spoke to the man through clenched teeth, "If we lived here, we wouldn't _need _a room."

The old man said nothing. "Forget it," Derek whispered tightly. "We'll take two rooms, then."

"Alright." He handed two keys to Derek, eyed Nick suspiciously, then walked back to the other room.

"Great choice," Nick muttered as they left the office.

"I'm sorry if you disapprove," Derek said sarcastically and kept walking as Nick stopped to watch his back.

Nick stood after Derek left, a sick feeling in his stomach. He turned back toward the office. The old man was staring at the window at him, the tip of his tongue protruding slightly from his mouth. Nick stared back at the man for a moment and then turned away with a shudder and ran after Derek.

*

Derek looked around the room, disgusted. It was the worst motel room he had ever seen. Nick ran in the open door. "Hey Derek," he started, then stopped as he noticed the disaster around him. "What a hell hole."

Derek nodded. "It'll have to do."

"Derek, did that guy back there seem strange at all to you?"

The Precept looked at his younger friend, amazed at his recovery from the events of the other day. It seemed as if Nick had completely forgotten his nightmare about Julia, and what had happened the night after. "A little. Why do you ask?" He bent over, and began to pull out clothes for the next morning.

"He seemed a little weird to me. I don't know, Derek, something about this place really gives me the creeps." 

"I'm sure the feeling will pass."

"Well, I'm not," Nick walked quickly out the door.

Derek sighed. Nick was obviously not fully recovered. The pale, drawn look on his face was not the only evidence, of course. Nick was starting to get paranoid. 

*

Nick was starting to get paranoid. He paced around his motel room, trying to sort out his thoughts. His mind drifted continuously to his dream about Julia, the encounter with the woman at the café, and the awful experience the night he had collapsed.

Nobody knew the truth about what had happened that night; not even Derek. He had been too afraid to tell them he had heard his father. He knew exactly what they would think—that it was just the returning grief over losing Julia warping his mind. But he _knew _it had been real.

Nick shut his eyes, pushing away the tears that wanted to pour out of them. He reached into his coat pocket and felt the small slip of paper there. He looked at the phone beside him, then shook his head. He probably wouldn't be able to make a long-distance call from the room anyway.

_What the hell, _he thought, and picked up the receiver. He quickly dialed Julia's number, then listened in surprise as it rang through. He heard somebody pick up. "Hello?" he said into the phone.

There was no answer, just a burst of static. "Julia?" he tried again, but there was still no response.

Nick pulled the phone away from his ear, then put it back quickly. He listened to the quiet static, then got ready to hang up. "Nick." He stopped short.

He lifted the phone slowly up to his hear. "Hello, Nicky," said the same familiar voice. "Nice to hear from you."

Nick couldn't believe it. He was hearing his own father. There was none of the menacing tone that he had grown so accustomed to hearing on the nights that his father drank. His voice sounded normal, almost gentle, and Nick felt very close to tears.

"Dad," he whispered unbelievingly. "It can't be you," he said, shaking his head. "What's going on? I know it can't be you."

There was no response. Nick shook the phone, trying to force an answer out of it. "Hello?" he shouted. "I know somebody's there! Hey, hello?!" The room was silent. "No," Nick whispered in despair. "No, oh god, no." He buried his face in his hands and wept.

*

Alex stared the screen in front of her, unable to believe here eyes. "Rachel, would you come take a look at this?" she called. 

Rachel walked over to Alex, and looked up at the larger screen on the wall. Her eyes widened. "Nick," she whispered.

"No," Alex disagreed. "That's Jonathan Boyle, Nick's father. He was a member of the Legacy with Derek years ago."

"I can certainly see the family resemblance," Rachel said, leaning on the back of Alex's chair. "What is this?"

"It turns out there have been disturbances in Santa Mira before. The FBI covered them up."

"Why would they do that?"

"Who knows," Alex responded. "This article doesn't mention the disturbances, only a grant given to Jonathan Boyle by the town's mayor. I traced the grant back to some very interesting disturbances at the local police station. Thirteen officers were killed."

"That's awful," Rachel remarked. "What happened?"

Alex turned to face her. "There was an explosion. Several of the officers were trapped by the blaze, but most died because of what happened after."

"And what was that?"

"Lightning struck the police station. What little part of the building that hadn't caught fire in the explosion lit up immediately."

"Sounds like a disaster."

"It was," Alex agreed. "The strange thing was, they couldn't find any explosives that would've caused the blast. And there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It had been sunny all day, and according to the survivors, you could see the stars. That wouldn't have been possible with clouds."  
"Okay, so this was obviously done by some kind of supernatural force. But what?"

"Well, according to this," Alex said, holding up a photocopied document, "they never figured it out. Nick's father worked on the case for several weeks, then gave up. He just claimed it was an unknown force."

Rachel frowned. "Then why the grant from the mayor?"

"I have no idea," Alex admitted. "But I intend to find out."

*

Nick turned over on the bed and groaned. He saw sunlight shining rudely through the thin curtains. He sat up slowly, and immediately wished he hadn't. Sitting on the nightstand beside his bed was a small piece of paper. He leaned over to pick up the paper, but stopped as he heard somebody pounding on his door.

"Coming!" he shouted, then started to wince even before his feet felt the cold tiles of the floor. He frowned and looked down at his feet. He was still wearing his jeans and boots, he noticed. He felt his chest. No shirt, though.

The knocking continued. "I said I was coming!" he shouted, a little angry this time. He hurried to the door and threw it open, expecting to see Derek. He nearly collapsed with surprise. 

"Julia!"

*

Derek had been awake for several hours when he decided to wake Nick. He quietly left his room and walked out into the bright sunlight. He pulled his coat tighter around him, alarmed at the chill in the air. He could see his breath coming in slow puffs in front of his face in the cold air. 

He was getting ready to round the corner of the building before Nick's door when he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. His vision turned gray at the edges, wavered, and then everything went black.

*

"I found something!" Alex yelled.

"Finally," Rachel said in relief. She looked at her watch. "Will this take long? It's almost time to pick Kat up."

"Don't worry, you have plenty of time. You have to hear this."

Rachel was amazed at the excited expression on the younger woman's face. She looked as if she'd just struck gold.

"It _was _Jonathan Boyle."

Rachel was very confused now. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The FBI didn't cover the case up, the Legacy did. Jonathan Boyle was responsible for the explosion. He didn't use regular explosives, though. He just tapped into a series of land mines already under the city. He could've blown the whole town."

"Then why didn't he?"

"He was discovered. Sloan found a mine just outside the area that blew. He investigated further and uncovered the entire plot. He spoke to Jonathan, rather sternly, about what he had discovered, and threatened to go to the authorities."

"Unless-"

"Unless Jonathan agreed to stop the investigation and quit the Legacy."

Rachel frowned. "So he asked him to resign his position in the Legacy? Derek never said anything about that."

"Of course not. But I'll get to that in a moment. Jonathan agreed and cancelled the investigation."

"That still doesn't explain the lightning."

"That was just a grand light show. Jonathan had the whole thing rigged to look supernatural. It was nothing but a publicity stunt. He was using his work at the Legacy to move on to bigger and better things, apparently."

"He wasn't very ethical, was he?" Rachel could not imagine how it must have been for Nick growing up with him.

"No, he wasn't," Alex agreed. "Anyway, once the investigation was off, Jonathan decided to change his deal with Sloan. Somehow he convinced Sloan to let him back into the Legacy. Of course Derek knew nothing about any of this."

"This is a little too heavy for me, Alex. I just can't believe it. A stunt like that, within the actual Legacy? Why would they let him get away with that?"

Alex shook her head. "The story isn't over."

"That's right," Rachel said. "The grant."

"Yeah, well the mayor was in on it. He was a good friend of Jonathan Boyle's."

"What was his name?"

"Jacob Walker."

Rachel was stunned. "You don't mean…"

"Yes," Alex finished. "Julia Walker's father."

*

Nick stared at the woman before him, unable to speak. He had heard many impossibilities over the last few days, but this was the first actual appearance. He simply stared at her, taking in her incredible beauty. He could not take his eyes off her.

She started toward him, stepping lightly into the room. Still, Nick said nothing, and did not make any move toward or away from her. He only stared.

"You're so handsome, Nick," Julia said, lightly stroking his cheek. "You look so very handsome when you're surprised."

Still no response from Nick.

"I've missed you so much, Nick," Julia continued. Her face contorted. "Why did you let me die?"

Nick couldn't answer. He looked directly into her eyes, but his mind did not register them. He was beyond comprehension now. Julia was stroking his hair now, begging for an answer, pleading with him to tell her. But he could not find his voice to speak.

Julia continued to coax Nick, trying to bring him out of his shocked state, but nothing helped. He stood perfectly still, staring at her with unseeing eyes. "Nick!" she yelled. "Nick, you have to tell me! Tell me! WHY DID YOU LET ME DIE?!"

Nick stared at her.

"Answer me!!" Julia yelled, then screamed. 

The figure before Nick exploded in a bright light and shattered into a thousand pieces, then vanished without a trace. Nick flinched, then sank onto the bed, where he sat with his head in his hands.

*

Derek sat up, rubbing at the back of his neck. His head hurt a little, but it had been only a glancing blow to his head, and he figured something else had rendered him unconscious. Remembering Nick, he pushed himself up and ran around the corner. The door to Nick's room was open. Derek hurried to the door and ran into the room.

Nick sat on the edge of the bed, head cradled in his hands. "Nick!" he shouted, rushing to his side.

"Derek?" Nick asked, raising his head.

"Nick, what happened? Did something happen to you?"

"Julia," Nick whispered.

"Julia? Nick, what do you mean?" But Nick had curled over on one side and was fast asleep.

*

Later that day, after Nick had awoken, showered, and eaten, the two men went to the elementary school to speak to the principal. They sat in the school's office, watching secretaries answer phones and fill out detention slips. Nick was trying without much success to forget what had happened that morning.

Derek looked over at him occasionally, but seemed for the most part to be avoiding facing him. Finally a tall, dark-haired man walked out of a smaller office. "Dr. Rayne, Mr. Boyle," he said, extending his hand. They each shook it. "Thank you for coming. Why don't we speak in my office?"

They followed him into the smaller room, and Nick took the seat closest to the door. The principal sat at his desk and looked at them over a stack of papers heaped in front of him. "You keep very busy," Derek commented.

"That I do," the principal agreed. "I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself. I'm Patrick Walker."

Nick was a bit startled. "You seem to know us already," he said.

"Yes, William Sloan and I are old friends. He filled me in on the two of you when he told me you were coming."

"I didn't know you were a friend of Sloan's," Nick remarked suspiciously. 

"We've known each other for years." Walker smiled suddenly. "I knew your father as well," he said to Nick.

Nick stiffened. He continued to eye the principal suspiciously. He felt worse about him than he had the motel manager. "Well," he said, leaning back slightly in his chair. "My father's dead."

"I know," Walker replied. "I attended his funeral. I don't recall seeing you there, though."

"I didn't go to the funeral," Nick said shortly, turning away from the principal.

"I'm sorry," Walker said, with a faint glint in his eye. "I seem to have touched on a sensitive subject. Why don't we move on?"

Derek watched the exchange between the two silently, but failed to notice the amused glimmer in the older man's face. He was concentrating on Nick. 

Walker pulled some documents out of his desk and handed them to Derek. "These are the written reports of the events of last week. This," he said, indicating the paper Derek was reading, "is a photo taken of the cafeteria after the first disturbance."

Nick looked over Derek's shoulder at the photograph. The entire cafeteria was in disarray. Plates, forks, spoons, pots and pans, and numerous other items were strewn across the floor. Food was plastered to every wall, and tables were turned over and splintered and broken everywhere in the room.

"Good god," Derek whispered. "What happened?"

Walker shook his head. "It happened during lunch. The children were waiting in line for their food when the tables began to lift off from the floor. Several children were injured in the commotion."

"Everything just started moving on its own?" Nick asked, incredulous. "You expect us to believe that?"

"Ask the kids," Walker replied shortly. "Sloan hired you to investigate these disturbances, not question my liability."

"Maybe he hired us for the wrong reason."

"Nick," Derek sternly interjected, then looked back to the principal. "I apologize, Mr. Walker. My associate tends to be a little rude at times."

"Yes, I noticed," Walker agreed. "It's quite alright. Just please get to work on this as quickly as you can. We would like this solved as soon as possible. If the state hears about this, all hell will break loose."

Derek nodded. "In that case, we'd like to see your cafeteria."

*

Rachel stared at Alex. "Julia's father? How is this possible?"

"I don't know," replied Alex, "but I have a feeling there's even more to this than I've already discovered."

"How do we find out?"

"Easy," Alex said with a smile. "We ask Jonathan Boyle."

*

Nick and Derek looked at each other and then around the room again, shocked at the condition of the cafeteria. 

"You cleaned it?" Nick asked again.

Walker squared his shoulders. "Did you expect us to leave it the way it was?"

"Obviously," Nick retorted. "Just what do you expect us to work with?"

"Nick!" The other men turned to Derek, who stood glowering at his associate. "Wait outside, Nick," he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh sure," Nick said, turning his back to him.

"NOW!"

Nick whirled around again. "What's your problem?" he asked rudely.

"You know."

"Come on Derek, I would expect this from Philip, but you…"

"Wait outside."

Nick made his way toward the door, shaking his head.

Derek waited for his friend to leave before speaking. "He gets in these moods sometimes," he explained.

Walker shook his head. "You don't have to explain," he said quickly. "Maybe we should've left the room the way it was…"

"Yes, that would've been better, but what's done is done. Let me have a look at the rest of those photos."

*

Nick stood outside in the hall, seething with anger. He had never been so humiliated in his life. Not since his father.

He watched as a pair of young girls walked past him in the hall and continued toward their classroom. He desperately tried to remember a time when he had felt that young and carefree. Of course, he never had, because his father was always there to bombard him with reality.

A sudden thought occurred to Nick. He followed in the direction of the girls, stopping only when he reached a door with a slightly rusted lock. He dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small pin. He struggled with the lock for nearly a minute before he heard the familiar click. He pushed the door open.

A terrible smell wafted from the open door. Nick gagged and covered his mouth and nose with his collar. He stepped through the door and nearly lost his balance when he took another. He reached out with one hand for a light switch and found a cord instead. He pulled it.

He was startled at the sight before him. The stairs did not go straight down, as he suspected, but spiraled elegantly into the darkened basement. 

Nick noticed a small lantern beside the cord he had just pulled, and grabbed it before starting his descent down the staircase. It seemed that the stairs would go on for miles. After about a hundred steps, however, the stairs widened and opened up into the large floor at the bottom. Nick looked briefly up. It was nearly fifty yards to the ground level. 

He took a few steps into the basement and then searched for an overhead light. It did not take him long. He flipped the switch and the basement was filled with a sudden eerie, red-tinted light. Nick imagined a sound behind him and whirled around, only to discover he was alone in the vast room. 

Nick gasped as he looked around the room. "What is this place?" he breathed.

The basement was some kind of temple crossed with a torture chamber. Shackles hung from each wall, and crude tapestries were painted red by the spill of red light emanating from the ceiling far above. At one end of the room was a large stage, set even farther below the level of the ground in the basement. Church pews were set facing the stage on large steps that fanned around to the backstage. 

Nick followed the steps to the bottom and walked cautiously to another, smaller, set of stairs that led up to the stage. He went up these quickly and found himself at the center of the stage, facing the rest of the basement. He checked his surroundings again, taking note of the drastic change of being below the floor level. The rest of the basement appeared as a balcony, and the distant walls bled freely, with the curtains against the far wall and the tapestries along the sides burning an unholy red.

The chains and shackles lining the walls glowed radiantly in the red light, emanating a life of their own. The pews leading down toward the stage were just out of the range of the red light, but appeared as ghosts coming out of the red haze that permeated the air. Nick could only stare in open horror at the unholy sight before him. Sickly, he tried to imagine how Philip would react to the sight of the basement.

A small sound broke the silence of the basement. Nick reached into his jacket for his gun, and pulled it out as he heard the faint swooshing sound again. He peered past the pews in front of him, trying to find the source of the noise. As the sound grew louder, Nick realized the sound was coming from above him. He turned his face toward the ceiling and gaped in shock and horror.

*

Rachel found it very difficult to sort the thoughts that hammered her as Alex patiently tried to explain her idea to her. 

"He kept a journal, Rachel," Alex said quietly. 

"Do you think he would have written about that?"

"Why not? The journals were supposed to be buried with their owners, remember? Nobody would've ever known."

"Including us." Rachel shook her head. "If only he hadn't died," she said quietly. "It'd be a lot easier if he could just tell us himself."

Alex laughed uneasily. "He would never admit to betraying the Legacy."

"What if he didn't?" Rachel asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Did the thought ever occur to you that Sloan was working with him?"

Alex's jaw dropped. Of course. "Then why would he want to cancel the investigation?"

"Maybe it wasn't Sloan's idea. Derek was in the Legacy at the time. If he somehow stumbled across their plan-"

"He would've told us," Alex interrupted.

"Not if he didn't know. He didn't necessarily find out, Alex, but as soon as he got close _of course_ they would have to cancel the investigation."

Alex shook her head, amazed at Rachel's discovery. "Should we go to Sloan?" she asked the older woman. 

"I'm up to it if you are," Rachel replied.

*

Derek found nothing in the cafeteria. He soon grew tired of Walker's half-formed conclusions about the incidents. The man had no idea what he was talking about. He did get a chance to reflect on Nick's behavior toward the principal and the connection Walker had with the other Legacy members.

As he walked out of the cafeteria, he realized for the first time the principal's name. "Walker." 

He remembered Nick's dream and the principal's claim to knowing Jonathan Boyle and William Sloan. Could he possibly be related to Julia? The thought of Julia being related to that idiot made Derek cringe.

He started down the hall, but stopped shortly after a few steps. He blinked, annoyed at himself for thinking so slowly during the investigation. He realized that he hadn't had one Sight since he'd arrived in Santa Mira. Considering the recent events in the small town, he would have expected his mind to be flooded with memories and premonitions. 

He continued down the hall, pondering this, when he noticed the basement door slightly ajar. He frowned as he walked toward the door.

*

Nick watched the pendulum's descent with sick fascination. He had the strange feeling he had entered the pit of doom. He laughed to himself as he remembered the famous story. _Hey, it could be worse, _he thought. _I could be stuck here. _He stepped out of the way of the pendulum, which he noticed was making its way back up to the ceiling.

Again he found himself wondering about the purpose of the horrible room he stood in. He ran down the stairs, then started up the larger flight toward the regular level of the basement. He tried to look away from the horrors along the wall as he walked, but found his eyes wandering repeatedly to the torture devices. He finally reached the top of the stairs and headed toward the last flight that would lead up to the rest of the school. Suddenly he stopped, staring at one of the tapestries on the wall. Woven near the center of the tapestry was a beautiful young woman holding a child. 

The woman was beautiful. Her face was remarkably like Julia's, he noticed. They could even be sisters… His eyes widened and he touched a hand to his jacket pocket. It _was_ Julia. Not his Julia, not Julia Walker. Julia Reeves.

*

Derek was reaching for the handle of the basement door when Nick came running out the door, barreling straight into the Precept. "Nick! What is it?" Derek called as he ran after the young man. 

"Let's get out of here," Nick begged, tugging urgently on Derek's shirtsleeve.

"Alright."

The two hurriedly left the school.

*

Sloan assessed the two women carefully. Alex knew he was pondering what they had told him, and now he seemed to be debating with himself whether or not he should confide in them.

"We realize it's all in the past," Rachel insisted. "We don't want to drag any of this out of the closet, but we have to help Derek and Nick. They could be in danger if we don't."

"What happened with Jonathan has nothing to do with this," Sloan said angrily. "There's no comparison."

Alex laid a hand on the man's arm. "Sloan, we don't think for one moment that you have anything to do with these disturbances. But you're the only one who can help us."

"Why?"

"The mayor was part of the original plan, wasn't he?" Alex asked. 

"Of course," Sloan replied. "He was the one who gave us the location of the mines."

"The principal of Santa Mira Elementary is Patrick Walker. Does that name ring a bell?"

"He's Jacob's nephew," Sloan said quietly. "This is ridiculous. All of this happened years ago. It has nothing to do with this."

"How well did you know Santa Mira's mayor?" Rachel asked.

"I barely knew him. This is insane. You'll have to get your answers from somebody else," Sloan stated, getting up to leave.

"I don't think so."

*

Nick collapsed on his bed, exhausted from the long day. He couldn't imagine why he was so tired. He had slept much later than normal that morning.

He heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.

Derek walked into the room slowly, eyeing Nick as he did. "Nick, we need to talk," he said carefully.

"Oooh, I knew this was coming," Nick taunted. "Time for Nicky's punishment?"

"Come on, Nick. You should know me better than that. I must admit, however, that your behavior today at the school was completely unacceptable. I haven't seen you behave like this since…"

"Since when?" Nick nearly shouted. "Since Julia's death? Come on! Tell me!"

"Yes!" Derek shouted at last. "You're behaving childishly, Nick. You treated Philip terribly after Julia's death, and you're treating me and Principal Walker just as terribly now."

"Walker—" Nick said, wringing his hands. "Why does his name have to be Walker?"

Derek stared. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"Yeah, one hell of a coincidence. The timing couldn't be any more perfect." Derek watched him carefully. "She died three years ago today."

Derek shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Nick. I—" he paused. "I can't believe I forgot," he finished quietly.

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, well, forget it. I don't really want to talk about it." He stopped and looked over at Derek, who was trying to make himself invisible. "I don't know what happened, Derek. I used to be able to trust you with anything. You're the only one I told about my father," he admitted. "But every time I look at you lately all I can think about is Julia. I know you didn't mean for anything to happen, but I can't help but wonder if you hadn't split us up… I know, it's not fair to accuse you, but I don't have anyone else to blame!"

"The demon."

Nick shook his head. "We could've helped her, Derek. You know that."

Derek looked at his friend and sighed. There was no sense trying to speak to him tonight. "Get some rest," he told him. "We'll get back to work in the morning. I want to speak to a few of the children." He looked at Nick more closely. "You think you can handle a few school children?"

Nick smiled weakly. "Think I'll need my gun?" he joked.

Derek smiled, relieved to hear the lighter tone in the young man's voice. "Good night," he said as he left the room.

Once alone, Nick sank onto the bed. He lied back, crossing his arms over his chest, and prayed he would have no more visitors that night.

*

Philip Callaghan stood in the doorway, arms crossed. "I think we convinced him," he said to the women.

"We?" Rachel said incredulously. "I think you did all the convincing on your own, Philip."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "I don't know what we'd have done if you hadn't shown up."

Philip flushed slightly. "I'm sure you would've thought of something," he said quietly. "So," he said, changing the subject. "Have you heard anything from Nick and Derek yet?"

Alex frowned. "Actually we haven't. I'm surprised; usually Derek is good about keeping in contact."

Philip nodded, concern touching his features. His thoughts turned immediately to Nick. Although he wasn't aware of Nick's recent problems, he had a strong feeling that something was not right with his estranged friend. "Maybe you should try to contact them," he said shortly.

"We already did," Alex said, glancing over at Rachel. "The motel manager wasn't very polite. He just said they had left, and hung up." She paused, frowning. "He certainly wasn't interested in talking to me. Seems people in Santa Mira don't care too much for outsiders."

"Classic small town," Rachel said as she mused over the information they had dug up. 

Philip was barely listening. He stood leaning against the doorway, attempting, without much success, to appear nonchalant as he worried about his friends.

*

Nick sat with his arms folded on the table, watching every movement of the boy across from him. "What happened after that?" he asked.

"Nothing," the boy responded. "Everything just kinda fell back down."

"Fell back down?" Nick shook his head. "How old are you, Jake?"

"Twelve."

"Twelve. And the best you can describe it is "everything fell back down"?"

"That's what happened!"

"I'm sure it is," Nick said, leaning back. "Do me a favor, would you Jake?"

"What?"

"Don't quit your day job."

*

The girl across from Derek stared at the tabletop, a small frown creasing her forehead. "It happened so fast." Derek only nodded, then waited for her to continue. "One minute everything was normal, then everything started flying around the room, then it just stopped."

"How long did it last?"

The girl shook her head. "Maybe a minute. It didn't even seem real."

Derek started. "What do you mean?"

"It was like something out of a movie," the girl replied. "This stuff doesn't happen in Santa Mira." 

A secretary poked her head into the small room. "Are you done with her?" she asked Derek. He nodded. "Come on, Jenny."

Derek frowned as the two left the room. _What **does **happen in Santa Mira? _he wondered.

*

Nick groaned as another girl exited the room. He was getting nowhere with the questioning. All of the children had the same story. He was growing incredibly tired of hearing "everything just started flying around". 

He looked up as a tall, blond-haired boy walked in. He was by far the best looking he's seen all day, and he walked with an air of confidence usually seen only in teenage boys. He was obviously from one of the upper classes. _Mr. All America_, Nick thought with some amusement.

"Hi," the boy said as he sat. "I'm David."

"Nick Boyle," Nick said, extending his hand. "You're a lot braver than the others," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, they're all punks. Most of 'em are scared of their own shadow." Nick laughed. "They're lying, you know."

Nick looked up, pushing the file he'd been looking at aside. "Who are?"

"The other kids. They're just telling you what Principal Walker told them to. He called everybody into his office a week ago to tell us what to say to you guys."

Nick stared at the boy in disbelief. "You're kidding," he scoffed.

David shook his head. "Nothing really happened. I was in the cafeteria every day that week. _I _didn't see anything."

"Hey, kid, I'm serious, if you're pulling my leg—"

"I told you!" David shouted. "I'm not the one who's lying!" He paused, and took several breaths before continuing. "The principal's a freak," he said. "Nothing happened. He wanted us to make up something to tell you guys."

"Why would he want to do that?" Nick pried.

"How should I know?" David retorted. "Maybe he wants something from you," he said finally.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. It's just an idea. I told you everything I know. Can I go now?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "Get outta here."

*

Patrick Walker smiled as he surveyed his surroundings. The tapestries, the hooks, the chains, the pendulum, the stage; everything was in place. "This place hasn't changed a bit," he said to himself, chuckling.

He walked around the basement, running his hand across the wall as he did. He was careful to avoid contact with any of the objects along the wall, but stopped to examine several. The object that kept catching his eye was a tapestry near the top of the stairs that led down to the stage area. The tapestry itself was muddled and confused, but the center was both beautiful and exotic, and he could not keep his eyes off of it. 

Walker stared at the tapestry for several minutes, thinking about the woman and child it portrayed. He ran his finger across the woman's face, then started back up the stairs. He ran up the last flight of stairs and hastily left the basement, quietly closing the door behind him. 

Walker turned to continue down the hall, then paused and looked at the small lock on the door. He tried to remember if the door had been locked before he entered, but he had not made any note of it earlier. He leaned closer to the doorknob, then bent to examine the floor in front of the door. A few tiny flecks of rust sprinkled the floor where he knelt.

He cursed himself for his carelessness, then hurried down the hall toward his office.

*

"Derek!" Nick ran through the door and found his friend sitting at a small table across from a young red-haired girl. They were talking quietly. 

Both man and child looked up as Nick burst in, eyes widening.

Derek closed his eyes, then opened them again quickly. He hoped Nick would not come out with another absurdity.

Nick paused to catch his breath, then spoke directly to his associate. "This is a hoax."

Derek groaned. "Nick, I don't know what you're talking about," he said. 

"Dr. Rayne!" Another shout penetrated the walls of the small, windowless office. Walker ran in, breathing heavily from his exertions. "Dr. Rayne, I need to speak with you," he said, when he was able. "Immediately."

"Surely it can wait—"

"No."

Derek sighed, but got up and pushed in his chair, then followed the principal out into the hall.

"Alright," Nick said as the door shut behind the Precept. "Sit down," he ordered.

The red-haired girl did so immediately, paling slightly at the ex-SEAL's tone. 

"What's your name?"

"Julia."

"Julia?!" Nick stared in open horror at the girl, again unable to conceal his shock. He shook his head, trying to clear away all the thoughts that surfaced in his mind. "Alright, listen up, Julia. I need you to tell me the truth. Do you think you can do that?"

The girl nodded.

"Good. Now tell me what really happened that day in the cafeteria."

"I already told your friend-"

"Tell me!" Nick's face flushed with anger. He didn't have the patience to deal with anymore of these children now. Especially not a girl named Julia.

"Okay." Julia sniffed, and Nick noticed with disdain that her eyes were red. She was crying. "I only told him what I was supposed to," she cried, tugging at a strand of hair. "I didn't want to get in trouble."

"Hey," he winced before saying her name, "Julia. You don't have to cry. Nobody's in trouble, alright. We just need to know what really happened. You see, somebody might be playing a really mean trick on us, and we wouldn't want that. Is that what you want, Julia?"

"No," she replied, sniffing again. "Mr. Walker said if we didn't lie that really bad stuff would happen to us."

"What kind of stuff?"

"_Bad _stuff. He said I would be sorry if I didn't say what he told me to."

"So, did anything at all happen, Julia? Or did he just make the whole thing up?"

The girl stared at him, chewing absently on a lock of red hair. Finally she spoke. "He made it up."

Nick grimaced. "Another god-damn hoax," he muttered.

"What?" the girl asked, looking at him with red eyes. 

"Nothing. Now get out of here."

*

Derek watched as Walker paced back and forth across the corridor, his hands clasped behind his back. "How can you possibly lay blame on Nick?" he asked the principal. "He wants to help as much as either of us do."

Walker shook his head. "I hate to tell you this, Dr. Rayne, but I think your friend has another agenda. He's been nothing but trouble since you got here. Why wouldn't he try to write it off as a hoax?"

"Nick may seem like trouble, but he has good intentions. Sometimes he gets a little carried away, I admit, but he would never do anything to intentionally set us back in our work."

The principal snickered. "He's got you fooled, then. I don't see why you can't see what is so blatantly obvious."

"Nick would never betray me."

"Who said anything about you?" Walker scoffed. "He doesn't have a problem with you. _I'm _the one he's after."

Derek tried not to show his frustration. "Nick isn't _after _anyone. I'll be the first to admit that he has an attitude problem. But that is _his _problem, it stems from his own personal experiences, and it has nothing to do with you! If I felt Nick was hindering the investigation in any way I would have him pulled off the case." As he glared at Walker he could feel his face burning with anger. "As for you, Mr. Walker, I suggest you keep your opinions of my associate to yourself from now on, and allow us to do our job."

The principal said nothing, but glared back at the Precept furiously. Then he muttered something to himself and yanked open the door to the main office, startling Nick, who was reaching for the handle on the other side. "Excuse me," he said rudely, pushing past the younger man.

Nick glanced at Walker as he passed, then turned his attention to Derek. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," Derek replied, his face dark.

Nick shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it—"

"Did the girl have anything else to say?"

"Actually, yeah. I think we better have a little talk, Derek."

*

"Forget it."

"Oh, come on Philip," Alex coaxed. "Just this once?"

"_No,_" he refused emphatically. 

"You might even have a good time."

"I'm a priest, Alex. I don't date."

Alex studied her friend's face for a while, then decided to give up. He wasn't easily swayed. She turned back to the computer screen. "I wonder what Derek and Nick are up to," she said, watching for Philip's relieved expression at the change of subject.

"They called earlier didn't they?" Philip asked.

"Yeah. Rachel talked to Derek. He told her he wanted me to look up some old files on the principal of the school. I'm not sure what I'm looking for."

"The man's obviously corrupt."

Alex laughed, shaking her head. "Everyone in authority is corrupt. Except for you, of course."

"And Derek."

"Oh yeah, him too."

The priest smiled, but continued to worry about his friends. They seemed to be keeping a lot from them. He looked to Alex again. "Did she tell them I'm here?"

"I don't think so. If I understood Rachel correctly, Derek gave her the orders and hung up. He didn't waste too much time with greetings."

"That sounds like Derek," Philip said. "I guess that means she didn't talk to Nick."

Alex nodded. "He wasn't even there. Apparently he and Derek decided to split up and dig around in different areas. Nick went to Maine."

"_Maine_? What's in Maine?"

"A lot of trees and snow. And lobster."

"Seriously, Alex. What was Derek thinking?"

"Who knows?" Alex responded, then paused and thought for a moment. "Maybe he wasn't."

*

Nick picked up speed as he raced after Derek, pushing his legs to go faster. His legs, however, were still watery from his chase after the demon, and the demon's "death" when Nick had finally caught up to him. He fought even harder to catch up with the Precept, but Derek was pulling farther ahead with each step. 

Nick tried to shout at the man to slow down, but could not find the breath to even cough. Finally, Derek reached a fence surrounding a large field, and he bounded over it without any hesitation. Nick followed suit, and ran until he nearly slammed into the other man's back. 

The Precept had stopped dead in his tracks, and now stood before a scarecrow. He seemed unable to move. Nick looked directly at the scarecrow, and felt his legs give beneath him. He collapsed to the ground, crying out as he did. "Noooo!"

Nick knew what would happen next, he prayed it would not. He could almost see the charred skeleton, the smoke billowing from the burning cross, the electricity still pulsing through his beloved's body. He closed his eyes in anticipation, and forgot entirely that Derek was at his side.

Derek placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, hoping that with that simple touch he could ease some of Nick's sorrow. 

He could not. Nick watched the cross intensely, ready to spring up stop something that he could not prevent from happening. He remained on his knees, waiting with terror for the lightning to streak from the menacing sky. 

Suddenly, an enormous ripping sound permeated the air, overpowering even the steady droning of the rain. A bolt of lightning flashed brightly in the dark sky, lashing out brutally as it struck the cross. Julia's body was racked with tremors as the electricity surged through her. The thrashings of her lifeless body were like the movements of a puppet. Nick could not bear to watch any longer. He turned his face toward the uncaring sky and shrieked again, pouring his entire soul into the scream.

Derek pulled urgently on Nick's sleeve, and urged him to get up. He had a feeling something terrible was going to happen.

The cross and field still burned with the bright lightning. The fire leapt off the cross onto the surrounding grass, creating a small ring around the scarecrow. Nick stared numbly as Derek hauled him to his feet out of the way of the spreading fire. The fire spread. As it did, the flames between the growing ring and the cross miraculously were extinguished.

Then, suddenly, everything within the fire ring erupted and disappeared, including the cross and Julia's body.

Nick stared, but his eyes were blank and unseeing. None of his friend's efforts were aiding in bringing him back to consciousness. He only stared at the spot where the cross had burned, his eyes burning holes where Julia's face should have been.

"Nick," Derek whispered, daring for the first time to speak.

Nick did not respond.

Derek cleared his throat, then tried again, speaking more sternly this time. "Nick." Nick still did not respond, but stared straight ahead, catatonic. Derek cursed quietly. "Let's get out of here," he said, and pulled the young man after him.

*

"Damn," Alex muttered. "This can't be good."

"What?" Rachel asked, appearing behind her.

Alex looked up, slightly startled. "Where'd you come from?"

"I was in the kitchen making Kat something to eat. She decided to come over here with me today."

"Where is she now?"

"In the parlor coloring."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew," she said. "I'd hate her to hear me talking like that."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed, "so would I."

Alex looked back to the computer screen. "I've been doing some research on Patrick Walker. You know, that principal of that school in Santa Mira." Rachel nodded. "Well, turns out Mr. Walker has a very interesting past. He worked for a preparatory school in Maine for several years before he took his position in Santa Mira."

"That would explain the trip to Maine."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. I guess Nick is digging around for something at the school there. Anyway, you want to know why Walker left the school?"

"He couldn't bear the thought of passing up all those wonderful opportunities?" Alex only stared. "Never mind."

"Okay. He was caught embezzling."

Rachel was shocked. "From a school?"

"It _was _a preparatory school, Rachel. There was definitely spare money in the budget."

"How much did he take?" Rachel asked, leaning forward to view the information for herself.

"About 60,000." Alex looked in disbelief at the computer screen. "Can you imagine what he could do with all that money?"

"Just the thought makes me shiver," Rachel said.

Alex nodded in agreement. She smiled sadly. "I wish Derek and Nick were here."

"So do I," Philip agreed, entering the room. "Any word from either of them?"

*

Nick would not eat. He sat silently across the table from Derek, and stared with unseeing eyes at the Precept. Derek coughed uncomfortably. 

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really," Nick replied, pushing corn across his plate with a fork. 

"You really should eat, Nick."

"I just said I wasn't hungry!" Nick snapped, and jumped out of his seat. "I think I'll go for a walk," he said as he headed toward the door.

Derek laughed. "Not in this weather."

"A little rain won't hurt me."

The Precept advanced on his younger friend. "Nick, I'm serious. The last thing we need right now—"

"Oh, shut up, would you? I'm going for a walk. Don't you want me to get out in this nice Maine air? You said you were bringing me here for a change of scenery. Well, I haven't seen any scenery!"

"If you'll just wait til morning."

""Oh, yeah, sure, when you can come along. What's the matter, Derek? You afraid you'll melt?"

Derek grimaced. He wasn't getting anywhere arguing with the young man. "Fine. Go for your walk, if you want. But I don't want to hear you complaining to me tomorrow when you catch cold."

"Don't worry, you won't!" The door slammed behind him.

Derek shook his head after Nick left. He wished they hadn't come here.

*

Nick walked briskly in the driving rain, trying without much success to shield his eyes from the downpour. His face ran with a mixture of rainwater and tears.

The ex-SEAL was trying desperately to drive the flood of images he had conjured out of his mind. All he could think about, however, was Julia. The way she looked, and talked, her smile, her clothes, her smell… the memories were too painful for him to bear.

Yet, somehow, they weren't. The picture of her in his mind, with her beautiful face, hair, eyes… it made him nearly shudder with pleasure. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he conjured up the image of Julia Reeves. He thought back to their meeting in the café. Something about their meeting bothered him, but he couldn't think of what. He remembered seeing her face in the tapestry in the school basement, but he had already dismissed that as a hallucination from his crazed mind. He prayed that this nightmare would soon be over.

The rain was letting up. Nick continued down the street, carefully avoiding the faces of anyone else who happened to pass by. Few people did, most were inside out of the rain. Those who were out carried umbrellas, and some looked at Nick almost sympathetically as they passed him on the sidewalk.

He noticed a fluorescent sign hanging over a large oak door, and it seemed to beckon to him. He walked toward the door, the overwhelming urge to drink himself into oblivion suddenly coming over him. As he entered the bar, several people looked up in his direction. The occupants of the bar were as seedy as the bar, and most stared coldly at him as he approached the bar.

The bartender smiled slightly when Nick sat before him. "Not from around here, are you?" he asked, not unkindly.

"Nope," Nick replied, and pulled out his wallet. "My money's just as good as yours, though."

The bartender laughed, nodding his head. "God, I know that. Probably better," he added as Nick pulled out two twenties.

"I fully intend to spend every dime of this," Nick stated.

"That's a lot of liquor," the bartender said skeptically.

"Gin-tonic. On the rocks."

"I don't know—"

"Pour it!" 

The bartender flushed, and poured the ex-SEAL's drink with doubt in his eyes. "I know I'm gonna be sorry for this."

"Well," Nick retorted, "isn't that some happy bullshit? You don't give a rat's ass what happens to me, and you know it. Just shut your mouth an do your job, would you?"

The bartender sighed. "Fine," he said. "By the way, in case you care, the name's Phillip. Most of these guys know me pretty well already."

"Phillip?" Nick looked up again, shocked. "Did you say your name was Phillip?"

"That's right. This is a small town, mister. Even the bartender's your best friend."

Nick laughed. "Well, Phillip, in that case, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Nick," he said. He opened his wallet and opened to the picture he carried of Julia and showed it to the bartender. "And this is my girlfriend, Julia."

*

Sloan leaned back in his chair. "You think they're on to us?" 

"Come on," Walker responded. "They've been all over you."

"They don't know anything about you. As far as they know, you have nothing to do with it. They think this is something entirely different."

"You mean you told them it was something different. Get real, William. You know these people better than I do. You should know how smart they are. Even an idiot could see we were working together."

"You don't know Derek," Sloan disagreed. "He would never imagine me working with you. Alex and Rachel probably haven't clued him in on me yet."

Walker looked doubtful. "Well," he said. "We've got quite a surprise planned for them, anyhow."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll show you," Walker told him, then led him toward the basement.

*

Alex threw herself onto the hard mattress. "This place isn't too inviting," she stated.

"And to think Nick and Derek spent a week here." Rachel sat on the other bed and removed her shoes. "Are you sure you want to stay here? We could go to a nicer motel, maybe even get separate rooms."

"I never knew you were so bashful."

Rachel laughed. "I'm not used to sharing anything. Kat doesn't ask to sleep with me very much anymore. She's growing up so fast."

Alex nodded. "Yeah, she is." She looked around the room. "Let's hope we're not here for long," she said, settling into bed.

"Be careful what you wish for," Rachel replied.

*

Nick glared at Philip. "What are you doing here?" he growled.

"What am I doing here? What about you? You're supposed to be in Maine! Where's Derek?" the priest asked, pushing past Nick. 

Nick grabbed the priest's sleeve. "Hold on! You haven't answered my question."

"Neither have you."

"We got back from Maine last night."

"Really? And what were you doing there in the first place?"

Nick gritted his teeth, and exhaled shortly. "We had to do a little research on this guy. It has nothing to do with _you _anyway."

The color seeped from Philip's face. "I'm helping Alex and Rachel out. I've been very concerned about you, but I can see now that there was no reason to be. You're just as stubborn as ever." He turned to leave, but was caught from behind by Nick. He was whirled around by the younger man with such force that he stumbled and fell heavily against him. 

Nick stumbled back, barely stopping himself from falling. "Now, _listen,"_ Nick growled. "There's nothing that concerns you here. You made that _very _clear when you left the Legacy. So just get on home to your nice, safe house and your precious little church!" 

"I won't leave without you, Nick," Philip said quietly. Nick kept his eyes averted, but seemed to be listening. "This may be hard for you to believe, but I am still your friend, and I still care about you. Just because I'm not working with the Legacy doesn't mean I can't take care of you every once in a while."

Nick laughed. "_You _take care of _me?_" he scoffed. 

"That's right Mr. Boyle," a voice said from the doorway. "I'd say you could use your priestly friend's help right about now."

Nick watched stupidly as Walker entered the room, Sloan close behind him. 

"Good to see you again Nick," Sloan said, and leveled a gun at his chest. "It's been too long."

*

Derek groaned. "Does anybody else feel stupid?" he asked, looking, with some difficulty, over his shoulder at the women behind him.

"Oh no, Derek," Alex replied sarcastically. "We just got kidnapped by our own boss."

"And tied ourselves up with our own hands," Rachel added, pulling at the ropes around her wrists.

"Just another day in the Legacy." 

All three looked up in astonishment as Philip was pushed into the dark room. The lights came on suddenly and Sloan and Walker sauntered in, with Nick between them. 

"Well," Sloan said with a smile, "now that we're all here." He sat in the last empty chair and motioned for Walker to stand beside him. "I think you've all figured out by now that I'm not exactly the person you thought I was." He sighed dramatically. "Oh well. You win some, you lose some." He stood now and walked casually to the door. Walker followed. "There's something that needs my attention now, but I'll be seeing you later. So, until then—"

Walker turned back to them and smiled. "I wouldn't get too comfortable," he warned. "You'll be leaving soon." He left the room, and they could hear his laughter as he left even through the closed door.

*

The room was very dark, but Nick found that after about an hour, his eyes had pretty well adjusted, and he could barely make out his friends. "You think we'll get out of this?" he asked, hoping to get a response from at least one person in the room. 

There was a long pause, and then Philip spoke up. "See," he said quietly. "I told you you'd need my help."

Nick only sat silently for a moment, then gave in and burst out laughing. "I guess so," he admitted. Alex and Rachel joined in his laughter, as did Philip, and even Derek seemed to be grinning.

The door opened with a bang and a shadow appeared in the doorway. It was Walker. "Alright, everyone up," he said, then laughed as only Nick and Philip stood. "That's right. The rest of you are sort of tied down, aren't you?" He laughed at his own joke. "Hey, I thought it was funny."

Rachel, Derek, and Alex didn't move as Walker untied them. When everybody was unbound, he walked toward the door again. "Follow me," he said briskly, then pulled Nick after him.

With the exception of Nick and Philip, they had all been blindfolded when brought to the room, so they were in for quite a shock when they walked out. "Is this what I think it is?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"That depends on what you're thinking I guess," Nick replied.

"It looks like we're at a school."

"That's because you are," Walker said over his shoulder. Isn't she nice, though? My pride and joy. Wait until you see the basement."

Nick started. He had a sinking feeling as he realized what Walker and Sloan had in store for them. "This isn't going to be pretty," he whispered in warning to Rachel. Walker glanced at him over his shoulder, then smiled and continued walking.

They finally reached the basement door. Walker stopped and looked over them, then opened the door. He walked in, and the Legacy members followed closely. "What day is it?" Alex whispered suddenly.

Philip looked amused. "Friday."

"Shouldn't school be in?" she asked tersely. Rachel nodded. Nick realized what Alex was thinking. 

"Where are all the kids?" he asked. 

Walker laughed again as he reached the bottom of the stairs. The lights were on already in the basement, but Nick could see that it was a different set than the ones he had turned on before. Everything was cast in a faint ruddy glow. "Right this way," Walker said.

They came to a stop behind the first row of pew facing the stage. The rows of pews seemed to stretch even further than Nick remembered. They were filled with children.

The room buzzed with excited conversation. Nick looked in horror at the stage below, and the atrocities that stood upon it. Five sets of chains, a dozen or so sharp hooks and what appeared to be an operating table in the center of it all. Walker shook his head then stepped forward. "Quiet!" he shouted.

The children fell silent as all eyes turned toward the group at the top of the stairs. Walker turned back to the group and smiled chillingly. "Welcome to eternity."

*

Derek said nothing as the chains tightened around his wrists. "You have to understand, Derek," Sloan said, clamping down the chains around Derek's ankles, "we don't have any choice now. You shouldn't have gotten involved."

Derek scoffed. "You've sold your soul for nothing Sloan."

"No Derek," Sloan disagreed with a shake of his head. "I'm just smarter than you are. Sometimes you have to play the game, you know. Sometimes you just have to play the game."

"What game would that be, Sloan," Philip asked. "The devil's?"

Sloan laughed. "Poor, naïve Philip, how little you know of the world."

Walker looked over at them, and stared hard at Sloan. "Are you almost ready?" he asked.

"Just about," Sloan answered, walking casually toward the steps that led down backstage. "There's just one detail missing."

Derek and the others waited in silence during Sloan's absence. He returned a moment later, dragging a young woman behind him. Even with the gag and blindfold on, there was something familiar about her. Derek, Philip and Alex gasped as the blindfold and gag were removed. 

Nick finally broke the silence. "Oh god no!"

*

Nick couldn't breathe. He pushed harder against the restraints, but only succeeded in hurting himself further. He looked again at the young woman beside Sloan. "No," he whispered, then slumped down as the tears streamed down his face. He tried to regain his composure, but with little success, so returned his gaze once again to Sloan. "I've seen her die twice," he said hoarsely. "I can't bear to watch it again."

"Well, Nick," Sloan responded. "That's just to bad, isn't it? Come on," he called to the woman, pulling her toward the operating table. 

"Let her go!" Nick hissed through clenched teeth. He struggled again with his bonds. Walker advanced on him with his gun pointed directly at his chest. He poked the gun into Nick's ribs, then motioned for Sloan to go on. Nick watched helplessly as the woman was tied to the table.

Derek finally spoke up. "That's not her," he said clearly, looking pointedly at Nick. "It can't be. She's dead."

Nick could not stop the tears from flowing. He lowered his head. "I don't know how, Derek," he said. "I don't know, but somehow it's her. I saw her before, at the café back home. I made myself believe they just looked alike, but god, Derek, it's _her_."

Derek couldn't believe his ears. "You mean you've known she was alive? And you said nothing?"

"I saw her other places too," Nick continued miserably. "At the motel that day, and she gave me her phone number, and I didn't even _notice_ that it had been her number before she moved in with us. I even called her. I, I—" Nick stammered, but couldn't go on. "It's her," he repeated.

Rachel finally realized who the beautiful woman before them was. "Julia!" she whispered, shocked. She looked over at Nick, but his eyes were glued to Sloan and the operating table.

Nick felt his life drained from him. He closed his eyes, and shut out everything else, sure his life was no longer worth living. He had been given a second chance with Julia, and he had ruined it. Now there was nothing left to live for. He did not open his eyes; he knew he could not stand to see her die another time.

"This is ridiculous," Derek hissed at him. "Don't you realize it, Nick? It has to be a trick, Julia's dead, there's nothing even they could do about that." Nick didn't respond. Derek turned his attention back to Sloan and Walker. "Stop this now," he said.

"And miss all the fun? Come on Dr. Rayne, really," Walker said.

Derek looked out over the crowd of children that stretched in front and above them. They stared ahead at the stage, their faces rapt with attention and anticipation. Derek wondered if they had any idea what they were about to witness.

Sloan made his way toward the front of the stage. "All right, everybody, listen up!" he called. The children continued to watch in silence. "I'd like everybody to focus their attention on the table over there," he said, indicating the table Julia was laid upon. Their eyes followed the movement of his arm. "Now I want you to watch very carefully." He nodded at Walker, who moved closer to Julia.

Nick listened to Sloan as he spoke to the children, but he still could not force himself to open his eyes and watch the dreadful scene. Everything seemed to be spinning around him as he heard Sloan give his next command. 

"Kill her."

His despair worsened even more and he tried desperately to break the chains around him. "No!" a voice shouted.

Nick's eyes flew open. He blinked in amazement, but opened his eyes again quickly. He could not believe what he was seeing.

Julia sat up on the table, and glared at the two men near her. Her eyes seemed to be burning as she spoke to them. "This is not how it is supposed to happen," she said, but the voice was not hers. Nick watched in shock as she stood and faced the children. Her voice was low and booming as she cried, "It does not happen like this!"

Sloan and Walker backed away from the enraged woman, looking helplessly around the room for an escape. They simultaneously turned from her and ran toward the steps leading up to the rest of the basement.

"Stop pigs!" Julia boomed. 

Nick caught himself thinking again of the woman as Julia, but realized at last that what Derek had said was true. This thing on the stage could not possibly be his love.

Walker and Sloan stopped short, but neither could meet the thing's glaring stare. "You no longer command me!" the thing shouted, advancing on the men. "Now it is time for you to meet _your _destiny!" The two men were picked up by some unseen force and thrown against the side of the stage. 

Sloan picked himself up and stared with bulging eyes at the woman. "This can't be happening!" he yelled, his voice breaking in terror. "I conjured you! You can't turn on me! This can't be happening!" He wrung his hands in despair.

"Oh, come now, little pig," the thing purred. "Everybody knows a demon can't be trusted. Hasn't the Legacy taught you anything?" Sloan was thrown against the stage wall again, this time with more force. "I guess I'll just have to teach you."

Nick experienced a whirlwind of confusion as the demon advanced on Sloan. The truth finally hit him with crushing impact. The school, Julia, his father; all of it had been a trick to lure the Legacy members to Santa Mira. Walker and Sloan had planned the perfect trap for them, and they fell right into it. He shut his eyes again as the betrayal and despair set in.

Derek pulled again on his restraints, then looked over to Philip. "Can you get rid of it?" he asked as quietly as he could.

"I think so," Philip answered. He closed his eyes, and struggled to remember the words that he had spoken so many times before he left the Legacy. They came back to him suddenly, and he focused his attention on the demon, crying out at the top of his voice in Latin. The demon turned toward him, rage burning in its eyes. Then, to everyone's horror, it began to transform.

Julia's beautiful face seemed almost to melt as the skin around the bones stretched and contorted. The jawbone elongated, and the nose spread out and the nostrils flared out, leaving in the nose's place a giant snout. The body punched out of the confinements of the clothes and dirty gray flesh appeared in its place. The demon now fully faced them, its eyes burning a bright red.

Philip blocked out the screams and crying of the children and the enraged demon. He concentrated on finishing the verses, determined to send the demon back to Hell. He did not even hesitate the demon approached him.

Nick clenched his fists, and begged his throat silently to allow sound out. "Philip!" he shouted. "Hurry up!"

Philip spoke even faster. He was almost to the end of the incantation. A black vortex appeared behind the demon. As Philip spit out the last few words, the demon was pulled back with tremendous force toward the vortex. It shrieked again in rage, then was swallowed by the vortex and vanished. 

Nick and the others stared in shock at the place where it had been standing. Nick finally managed to avert his eyes and glanced over at Walker and Sloan at the side of the stage. What remained of their bodies was completely motionless. He turned his head and looked out over the children. "So!" he called. "Who wants to help us down?"

*

Rachel lightly touched Nick's shoulder. "Feeling any better?" she asked.

"A little. Just my luck to catch the flu the week before Christmas," he said with a laugh.

Rachel shrugged. "It could be worse."

"I guess," Nick agreed, but he wasn't entirely sure. "I could—" his voice broke off as he was hit by another coughing fit.

"Forget it," Derek said. "Rest." 

Nick didn't argue, but rolled over a little on the couch and shut his eyes.

Rachel smiled lightly at the Precept, and the two left the parlor in silence. "He seems to be handling the situation pretty well," she said confidently.

Derek nodded. "Yes, that's apparent. I'm certainly glad. He's received a lot of nasty shocks thanks to Walker and Sloan. And Nick can be a real terror when you throw too many surprises at him."

"Hey, I heard that!"

Derek and Rachel laughed. Then Rachel shook her head. "I still can't believe Sloan would do this. What on earth possessed him to turn against us?"

"I don't know," Derek replied, "but I'm sure it started years ago with my father and Jonathan Boyle."

"I just wish there was something, _anything_, to give us a clue." She paused. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. Maybe we'll never know."

Nick appeared in the doorway looking haggard, sick, and definitely upset. "How am I supposed to get any rest with all this chatter?" he asked somewhat rudely. Derek and Rachel only looked at each other, then at the front door as Alex walked in. 

"Hey guys," she said.

"Alex," Nick muttered, then coughed again. 

"You'll never guess what happened after I dropped Philip off," she said, removing her coat.

"What?" the others asked together.

Alex's eyes widened, then turned to a burning red. Her voice changed to match the voice of the demon. "Oh come on, guess."


End file.
